The Era Before the Avatar
by FanFantasyWriter
Summary: Before Aang ran away he disappeared once before, and found himself in the Raven clan. Now he is returning to the temorary home he left. But as trouble brews for the clans he finds himself in the middle of it. One will be lost, the others changed forever.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: A Mage's Dream

Renn woke in a cold sweat, she could still hear the breathing of Torak and Finn-Kedinn as they lay asleep beside her in the dark, round room. Something or some_one _was out there in the stormy blackness, she could feel it. On the backs of her wrists, her blue lightning bolt tattoos were glowing a little. A sign that her dream was not a normal one but the kind that mages have, the kind that means something. Unable to go back to sleep she decided to oil her bow so she would be ready to go hunting at dawn if the storm let up. It would serve that purpose but really, Renn just needed the feeling of doing something, anything useful. She moved carefully so as not to wake them, making sure that even her deep red hair did not so much as touch either of them. In her dream, she had seen an old friend from an unknown clan who lived far away. Her uncle had fostered him for nearly two years when they were young. Oh, how she missed him…  
"Maybe that's it! Maybe he's out there and trying to come back!" She thought to herself, but she did not really believe it, no matter how much she wanted to. Reason told her that he was far away and would never return. Her large black eyes peered around the sides of the shaky wooden door. It had to be tied shut in whether like this and it rattled noisily. She sighed and waited for dawn to come.

Chapter 1: The Hidden Village

Meanwhile a boy named Aang and his friends, Katara and Sokka were walking along the edge of the forest counting on the trees to keep them dry (which wasn't working) and looking for a proper shelter in which to spend the night.  
"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Sokka asked.  
Aang's gray eyes went hard as he shot him an annoyed glance. "Sorry guys, but I was sure there was a village somewhere around here. I just…" he paused. "Don't remember where it is exactly."  
"Maybe they were destroyed. It doesn't look like there was much Fire Nation activity around here but you never know." Sokka suggested only to have Katara punch him hard in the arm. Her blue eyes turned cold and pierced him so that he backed away from his sister. "Can't you at least try to be sensitive?" She asked accusingly.  
Suddenly they heard a strange bird call and saw the leaves of the oak tree in front of them rustle menacingly. The bird leaped out of the tree and flew off, it crossed their path so low and close that they could have felt its wing tips. It was only a raven. Still, Aang seemed to be the only ony who was reassured by this. The boy cracked a small, sweet smile; they were on the right track. There was no question about that now. Then they continued on through the dark and rain. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Secrets

"Renn? Are you awake?"

She hadn't even heard him get up. How long had he been there? Had she woken him after all? "Yes, Torak… I… didn't… mean to wake you." She said.

"You didn't, that stupid door isn't exactly quiet." He replied with a stupid looking grin on his face.

Renn laughed at this but in an instant both their smiles vanished.

"Renn… what's bothering you? I can tell something's wrong."

Torak could tell? Of course he could tell… Torak noticed everything he saw and he knew her better than just about anybody else. Renn wasn't ready to talk about it though. "Nothing Torak, I'm fine… go back to sleep."

"Sure, you don't want tell me? Ok then, we can talk in the morning. Oh and Renn… don't go hunting tomorrow if you don't get some sleep. You're not going to take down anything substantial if you're too exhausted to notice a trail." He said before heading back the way he'd come and crashing on his fur covered mattress.

Thunder crashed as bolts of angry lightning burst across the sky. Renn heard the unmistakable sound of a gigantic old tree falling to the ground. "I hope he wasn't sleeping anywhere near that tree." Renn thought.

She remembered the times they'd spent together those six seasons he'd been with the ravens. A lot had happened while Aang had been around. Her father had left and been found dead the following spring, she'd learned to shoot her bow, and become Saeunn's apprentice. Aang had been there for her through all of these things. He'd been her first and only real friend before she'd met Torak. He'd left only about six moons before the demon bear had come but it seemed to Renn as if that had been an eternity ago. He hadn't even been seen anywhere within the clans since then. She'd made a point to check at every clan meet. Was she crazy to think it was possible for him to be on his way back here now?

Elsewhere in the forest Aang, Katara, and Sokka had stopped at last after another six hours. Somewhere earlier in the night the very essence of the forest had changed, it somehow felt alien and ancient, as if this was a different time. They were all exhausted and trying to sleep, but the rain and howling wind made any real rest almost impossible. Aang sank deeper into his water tribe sleeping bag. His friends' culture were experts at making thing that were warm and soft that were still waterproof. Over a year had passed since the end of the war. The Fire Nation was no-longer an issue, Aang had reveled in this new and more peaceful world. But in his dreams Aang was somewhere else.

_He was ten years old again. He'd been with the Ravens for seven moons and that was all the further back his memory went. Everything having to do with being an airbender and everything else about his life except for his name was erased from his mind. Ever since coming here he'd learned and lived by clan culture. It wasn't like he really had a choice. _

_Renn had quickly become his best friend, her brother Hord on the other hand was well… a jerk. Making him do things that were supposed to be his responsibility and mocking his sister without end, Aang wished that he would just go away. Currently Aang was making fish-hooks, bending little pieces of pliable bark and twisting them together. He was happy in this new life, he only tried to get his memories back when Saeunn made him. Suddenly his dream changed drastically. He was back in his camp site but he knew he wasn't awake. He was almost fourteen again and strangest of all an older version of Renn stood about fifteen feet away from him. She spoke… "Aang, you all have to move. You'll be crushed if you stay here. Get yourselves away from that tree behind you before it falls." Aang understood, he tried to grab her had and pull her toward him so that all five of them could escape but she became mist and dissipated_

Aang awoke, shaken. Beads of sweat lined his forehead and his heart hammered so hard his thought he could throw up, but he swallowed hard and rose. He shook Katara and Sokka had told them that it was time to leave. The tree began to fall upon them and they ran, they were just out of range when the massive redwood finally crashed to the ground. "Thank you Renn, you saved us." He thought


End file.
